Isolation
by mamapranayama
Summary: Daniel and Vala spend some quantity time together in medical quarantine. Will they survive the virus that has infected them or kill each other first? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Stargate SG1, I just like to mess with them._

"Daniel." He heard her call his name, but chose to ignore it.

"Daniel." She called again. He rolled over to his side, facing his back to her, hoping she'd get the picture that he wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Daniel, you asleep?" She wasn't giving up.

"Yes." He mumbled tiredly. "You should be too." He added.

"I can't sleep." She whined. "How can you just lay there at a time like this?"

"Uh, because I'm tired and it's three a.m. Go back to sleep, Vala."

"Easy for you to say. You practically live here with the amount of injuries you get while we're on missions. In fact, one might think you actually like being in here, with all of the nurses fawning all over you. I'm sure it's a wonderful ego boost for you, isn't it Daniel?"

"Vala..." Daniel sighed wearily, turning onto his back and staring up at the ceiling "Is this because I was nice to that nurse that came in earlier? Because if it is, I was just being polite" He turned to look at her. She was picking at her sheets.

"No. But she did give me the skink eye."

"It's stink eye, and she did not. You however, were pretty rude to her."

"I'm sorry, it's just that I don't like this room very much, it makes me feel like I'm in jail." She gave him a pitiful look and pouted. "I just can't help but lash out at my oppressors."

"Puh-lease. This an isolation room, Vala. We're in medical quarantine. Not prison."

"Well, it might as well be. It's not like they're going to let us out of here anytime soon."

"If we left, we risk contaminating the whole base and maybe even the planet with whatever it is that we have in our bloodstreams right now. There's not much we can do about it anyhow, so why don't you just go back to sleep."

Finally, she was quiet and Daniel closed his eyes again, hoping that rest would come quickly. He began to feel the edges of sleep tug at him. He floated in that murky zone and welcomed slumber as it tried to reach him.

"Daniel."

"Uhg! What?" His eyes opened against his will and he turned his head towards Vala in frustration.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Of what? If you mean being stuck here with you for God knows how long? Then yeah." He hoped that would end her ceaseless talking, but alas it was not to be. He knew babbling was just her way of relieving anxiety, but he was tired and not in any mood to indulge her.

"Don't tell me you're not afraid of what might be brewing in our bodies right now. I hate the notion that there's some strange alien virus that has never been seen before inside of us. We don't even know what the symptoms of this virus are. For all we know it could manifest itself as something horrible like Ebola or the Plague or..."

"Or a head cold." He finished for her. "All we know is that there's an unknown virus that showed up in our blood tests. Just because we don't know anything about this bug that we've caught, doesn't mean that we're going to die some horrible death. Most likely, our immune systems will wipe it out and we'll leave here in a day or two after it's out of our systems without ever getting sick at all. So, will you please go back to sleep, because if I am going to be sick, I'd at least like to be well rested and you should be too."

"Fine, I'll try. But, I can't promise anything. This whole thing is truly stressing me out. What I wouldn't give for a bubble bath right now. Maybe with some scented candles, meditative music..."

"Vala."

"What?"

"Shhhh!"

"Right. Being quiet now. Going to sleep." Silence descended upon the room once again and Daniel began to relax. He rolled back to his side and closed his eyes. He could hear Vala rustling around and flopping from side to side, trying to find some measure of comfort. She sighed loudly and fluffed her pillow dramatically.

"I can't do it. This bed is too uncomfortable. I miss my bed, it's perfect for me and I just bought these new 600 thread count satin sheets from Ebay. I tell you, you haven't slept until you've spent a night between those babies..."

Daniel groaned. He threw his blanket over his head as Vala continued to talk about her bed, the newest addition to her growing collection of throw pillows and her 'absolutely to die for' down comforter. Finding the blanket wasn't providing the kind of sound barrier he desired, he grabbed his pillow and put it over his ears. Her muffled voice droned on and on and he was actually finding it soothing him a bit into sleep. That is until a pillow landed on him from Vala's direction.

"What was that for?" He asked and angrily threw off his pillow and blanket, annoyed again as she broke into his dreams.

"For not listening to me."

"Sorry for actually wanting to sleep." He snipped.

"Did you hear what I asked you?"

"Did I want to?"

"Daniel..."

"No, I didn't."

"I was just saying how I thought that my throat felt a bit scratchy." She told him while she stroked her neck.

"It's probably from all of the talking you've been doing." He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, go back to sleep."

"Really Daniel, my throats hurts, what about yours?" Now that she mentioned it, his throat was feeling a bit raw.

"Maybe it does a little, but I'm sure it's nothing." He figured they were getting a bit paranoid in here waiting to see if they would get sick or not. Even the smallest of aches could be magnified and blown out of proportion when they were so focused on the possibility of becoming ill. He dismissed the throat soreness as just a by-product of sleeping with his mouth open or the dry air of the isolation room.

"I can't stand this!" She exclaimed, exasperated.

"You're not the only one." He sighed.

"I'm not sure I'll ever forgive you for this." She pointed to him with a serious expression.

"Me? How is this possibly my fault?" He was incredulous and more than a little irritated.

"Well, you were the one that decided it would be a nice idea to let all of those snotty-nosed children follow us around the ruins. I'm sure it was one of those brats that gave this to us."

"They were excited to learn something new about their culture that they hadn't been taught before and besides we could have just as easily picked this up from one of the adults in the village."

"If that's true, then how come Sam, Teal'c and Cam are just fine and we're trapped in here?"

"I don't know! Why does it matter? However we got this, we just have to deal with it." He was sitting up now and he angrily grabbed the pillow Vala had thrown at him and tossed it back at her. She caught it threw it back in his direction. He took the pillow again, but this time he placed it behind his head and over the top of his own. He threw his head back onto the two pillows and crossed his arms, keeping the extra pillow for himself.

"Okay, give me my pillow back."

"No." He said looking at the ceiling tiles.

"C'mon, Daniel."

"No, it's mine now and I think I'm going to enjoy the extra cushion."

"You're being childish." She accused and he snorted at that statement.

"Me childish? I thought it was you that had the market cornered on childish."

"Don't make me come over there." She threatened him.

"Just try it." He challenged her. She sprang from her bed and rushed to the pillows, sweeping both of them out from under Daniel's head in one fluid motion. Before he could truly fight back, she had her pillow in one hand and and had thrown his pillow into his face. He snatched it off his face to see Vala grinning from ear to ear back on her bed.

"You should know by now that I'm way faster than you." She smiled at him with narrowed eyes, daring him to get back at her. He just shook his head. He would let her win this time, he was growing tired of her game and just wanted to go back to sleep.

"I'm done playing. Let's just get some sleep, okay"

"Fine. I guess I'm getting a little tired anyway." She fluffed her pillow again and laid down turning onto her side. Daniel did the same so that they both had their backs to each other.

"Night, Daniel." She called out to him.

"Night, Vala." He responded in kind. He laid there looking at the wall of the isolation room for some time until he began to hear Vala's breathing even out and eventually turn into a snore. Unfortunately, he was now wide awake and the sound of Vala's snoring was increasing in volume by the minute. He was never going to get back to sleep now and he silently he prayed for their time in isolation to pass by quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to everyone that's left a review so far. I wasn't sure if I really liked this story, but you give me confidence to continue it. :)_

"'Pagnute' is not a word, Vala."

"Sure it is. It's Goa'uld for..."

"Yeah, I know what it means. Besides the fact that it's crude and offensive, you can only use English words in Scrabble."

"That's a stupid rule. Why would someone from a planet with such diversity in languages devise a game that could only employ one of them. It's very limiting."

"That's kinda the point."

Disgusted, she grabbed her remaining tiles and tossed them into the bag with the other letters yet to be chosen.

"Wait! What are you doing? We haven't finished the game yet."

"Daniel, you're besting me by over a hundred points, I think I know when I've been beat."

"Fine. You want to play something else? We have Monopoly..."

"Nah, that's not as fun without Teal'c." She shook her head sadly.

"Chess?"

"I wouldn't stand a chance against you."

"How about..."

"No. If I play one more board game, I might just go completely insane." She exclaimed while gesturing emphatically towards the stack of board games they had been supplied with to entertain them during their stay.

"Not that you'd have too far to go." He muttered.

"Shut-up, Daniel." She flopped backward on her bed. He immediately regretted what he said to her. They were both getting a little testy, the four walls of the isolation room seeming to grow closer and closer to each of them and threatening the duo's sanity.

"I'm sorry." He sighed and sat on the bed next to her. "I think this place is driving us both a little nuts."

"Where is Dr. Lam anyway? Wasn't she supposed to have our blood tests back?"

"She only drew our blood an hour ago, give the poor woman some time."

"I'm just so bored!"

"Then I guess we'll just have to find something else to do."

"Like what?" She looked to him hopefully.

"Uh..." Daniel looked around hoping inspiration would hit him, but he was stumped. He too had to admit that he was terribly bored as well. Thankfully, he spied a familiar face enter the observation room above them. He waved as she sat and spoke into the microphone.

"Hey guys." Sam greeted them cheerfully.

"Hi Sam." Daniel called to her.

"How's it going?"

"Oh, You know..." Daniel began.

"Terribly!" Vala finished for him sitting up again on her bed. "Please tell us that we're cleared to leave this wretched room." she begged. Sam made a remorseful face and Vala flung herself backward again.

"Dr. Lam should be in with you in a minute." As if on cue, a figure clad in a blue hazmat suit emerged from the door. She moved slowly and tried her best not to trip in the suit that was obviously way too large for her. Vala sat up as she approached and Daniel stood, both of them hoping that she was bringing them good news, that the blood tests showed the virus being fought off by their immune systems. However the look on her face betrayed the fact that she was not going to be making their day.

"So, I take it, there hasn't been any improvement with our blood tests." He stated, knowing the answer already.

"I'm sorry Dr, Jackson, Vala. The virus is still present in your blood and it appears to be multiplying. I'm still hopeful that your immune systems will take care of it, but I'd like to start a course of anti-viral medications. It may not help any, but it's worth a shot. Hopefully, we can get you guys out of here by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Vala complained. "I'm not sure I can survive another night in here."

Daniel gave a face as well, not looking forward to yet another night with Vala bugging him every five minutes.

"I wish I could give you a better idea about what's going to happen, but this virus is unlike anything I've seen before and I'd rather err on the side of caution than end up with a global pandemic on our hands."

"We know. You're doing your best." Daniel reassured her.

"How are you two feeling anyway? Any new symptoms?"

Daniel looked at Vala and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I thought I had a bit of a sore throat last night, but I feel fine this morning." She told the doctor.

"Me too." He added.

"Okay. I guess we'll just keep monitoring you two and see how things play out."

"Fabulous." Vala sarcastically muttered.

"Hang in there, it won't be forever." Dr. Lam patted her on the shoulder.

"No, it'll just feel like it." Vala dramatically sighed and Daniel rolled his eyes and shook his head, giving the doctor an apologetic look. She smiled back .

"I'll test your blood again later after we've given the anti-viral a chance to work."

"Thanks." was all Daniel could give her. She turned awkardly in her giant hazmat suit and waddled to the door.

"Sorry guys." He heard Sam's voice from above.

"Not your fault, Sam." Daniel called up to her.

"He's right Sam, it's not you fault we're trapped like animals in a cage. It's Daniel's."

"Vala..."

"Is there anything you to need?" Sam offered, trying to fend off another spat between the two.

"Yeah, I could really use my laptop and there's the video from the planet that I still need to review. Oh, I also have a few reports on my desk that I need to work on, so if you could bring them too, that'd be great." Sam smiled down at him, he knew that she understood his need to work in order to keep from going crazy. Work helped to ground him and with so much time on his hands, he felt he should really make the most of it.

"Anything for you, Vala?"

"Hmmm..." she thought for a moment. "I need chocolate, lots of it. And T.V. Oh, and ice cream, preferably chocolate or chocolate chip cookie dough. On second thought, ice cream is pretty messy, so maybe some cookies instead or better yet, just cookie dough. Did I mention I needed T.V?"

"I'm afraid there aren't any cable hook-ups in the isolation room, Vala. But I could get you a portable DVD player and some movies."

"I suppose that will to do, I'm just kinda bummed about missing 'The Hills'."

"Somehow we'll survive." Daniel chimed in.

"Will we?" She gave him an icy glare and he threw up his hands in defeat. He sat on his bed and rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses. His hopes of this being a short stay in isolation dashed as he resigned himself to the fact that he and Vala were going to be in this little room together for a long, long time.


	3. Chapter 3

_Alright, another short little chapter for you. Hope you like it. :)_

"Vala, please. Keep it down!" Daniel threw his pen down in frustration onto the pile of papers that littered the small rolling table he was using as a desk. Laying on her stomach with her feet in the air, she continued to laugh obnoxiously at the tiny DVD player before her on the bed. With her headphones on, he wasn't sure if she just couldn't hear him or was ignoring him.

"Vala..." He tried more forcefully, but she only laughed louder this time. He was convinced now that she was ignoring him. Frustrated, he pushed the table aside and stalked over to her bed pulling a headphone away from her ear.

"Vala!" He yelled into her ear.

"Ah!" She yelped and jumped up, forgetting that she was still attached to the headphones, nearly toppling the DVD player off of the bed. She grabbed it with lightening fast reflexes and saved it from a certain death just before it fell over the edge. She flicked the headphones off angrily and fixed Daniel with a piercing stare.

"Why did you do that?" She demanded to know.

"I could barely think over your laughing. What's so funny anyway?"

"This movie I'm watching. It's the most hilarious thing I think I have ever seen"

"It must be, you were snorting."

"Was not." She denied

"Were too. It's so loud I can't concentrate. I have a lot of work I'd like to get finished, so if you don't mind..."

"Daniel, all you do is work, why don't you watch the movie with me?" He made a face, but she remained determined to break him of his workaholic tendencies. "C'mon, take a break for a little while, it's not like we have anywhere to go." She patted her bed offering him a space to sit. He had to admit it was a little tempting since his head was beginning to pound a bit. He refused to believe that he was getting sick however and shrugged it off as eye strain and tension. Maybe a little break would be enough for the headache to go away. He sat down and she smiled brightly as though she had just won the lottery.

"What are you watching?" He asked and she handed him the movie's case."You can't seriously think that I'd want to watch this. In fact, I can't believe that Sam gave you this."

"It's Mitchell's actually, but I think you'd find it funny."

"'Jackass, The Movie'?"

"Sure, it's got these guys in it that pull pranks on people and they do the most outrageous stunts. It reminds me so much of a group of friends I had when I was a little girl." She looked off in the distance, lost in nostalgia. "We used to get into _so_ much trouble." She stated whistfully.

"There's a shocker." Daniel sarcastically quipped.

"Oh, C'mon. Didn't you ever pull any practical jokes growing up?"

"Nope."

"Not even one?"

"Well..." He started hesitantly. "There was this time in graduate school... I had this professor, and we really didn't see eye to eye on anything. He was a real jerk, but I was good friends with his teaching assistant, so my friend and I came up with a plan to get back at him."

"Ooh, what did you do?" She asked with genuine interest.

"He had a big lecture he was going to give at an archaeological conference and we deliberately switched around several of his presentation slides."

The smile she had on her face fell a bit and she raised her eyebrows at him. She didn't respond for several moments.

"Wow, that was really... really...lame."

"What can I say? Not all of us grow up as juvenile delinquents." He sighed and threw up his hands. "I'm going back to work." He decided to forgo the infantile movie and finish up the translation he was nearly finished with. He got up from her bed, but nearly had to sit back down when the room began to spin and black splotches danced before his eyes. For a few panicked moments he was sure he was going down, but he lowered his head and closed his eyes until the dizziness passed. He felt Vala catch his arm, but he shrugged her off.

"You okay?" She asked full of concern. Thankfully, his vision cleared and the floor no longer threatened to rush up to meet him.

"Fine." He answered, but his headache doubled in intensity and the beginnings of nausea came over him. Vala eyed him, unconvinced.

"You almost passed out, Daniel."

"I just got up too fast."

"Right." She got up and pushed him towards his bed. "You're about as 'fine' as I am a virgin."

"Vala, really."

"Just lay down, will ya? I swear darling, there are mules that could take stubborn lessons from you." He rolled his eyes, but his headache was wearing down his resistance to her and he laid down on his bed. He took off his glasses and held them in his hand before draping an arm over his eyes to shield them from the light that had suddenly become too bright.

He wasn't aware that he had fallen asleep until he was startled awake by a sharp pain in his arm. His fuzzy brain thought it strange that a smurf was standing over him before he came to the realization that it was Dr. Lam in a blue Hazmat suit.

"How are you doing, Dr. Jackson?" She asked, her voice muffled by the hood over her head. A nurse, also clad in the same kind of blue suit finished placing an IV into his arm and taped it into place.

"Uh..Okay." He answered, though his head still thumped against his skull. "What's going on?" he asked pointing to the IV.

"Sorry, you've been asleep for a while, but I needed to get you started on those anti-virals we talked about earlier." She placed a small cup with two pills into his hand. "Take these." She ordered

"What's this?"

"It's acetaminophen, you've got a bit of a fever and I'm sure it'll help with that headache of yours as well." He looked at her suspiciously, but took the pills and drank some water from the glass she handed him.

"Thanks, how did you know I had a headache?"

"I'm a doctor." She answered smugly with a smile. "We're trained to pick up on these sort of things."

He gave her a weak smile back then turned his head towards Vala's bed. She lay with her eyes closed and was attached to an IV, he was concerned that she might be getting sick as well.

"Is she okay?"

"Oh, She's fine. She's still not showing any symptoms, but I gave her a little something to help her sleep along with her anti-viral. She was pretty worried about you and I was afraid she was going to wake you up, but you really must have needed the rest."

"Why? How long was I out?"

"Almost eight hours." He was a little shocked to hear that, it certainly hadn't seemed that long and he felt as though he could still sleep for another eight hours.

"Whoa." was all he could think to say.

"Hang in there." She patted his knee reassuringly. "Hopefully, this will be the worst of it."

"Sure." He was still looking in Vala's direction. This was a side of her he rarely saw. The quiet, peaceful and asleep Vala was a sight to behold, he thought, too bad she never stays this way for long. She really was lovely he admitted to himself and in many ways he envied her free spirit and carefree attitude. He sometimes wished he could let himself go like that, but he figured he was just a case of a tiger never changing its stripes. Just like Vala would never become a librarian in this lifetime he had to accept that he would never join a motorcycle gang or join a rock band. They were who they were. Daniel and Vala, polar opposites, night and day, hot and cold, etc, etc. As much as he felt a certain amount of attraction to her he knew that she would never settle down for him, he was too boring for her, too much of a stick-in-the-mud.

A little regrefully, he watched her sleep until his own eyelids began to sag and he was pulled down again into that blissfully unaware state.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks again to those of you ho have read this story and left a review, I really appreciate it. Good or bad it's always good to get feedback, so don't be afraid to flame me if you don't like this next chapter._

Vala plugged her ears as Daniel retched yet again. When he finished, he gave the nurse holding the emisis basin an apologetic look before she took it away and left the room. He leaned miserably back onto his pillow and groaned. He caught sight of Vala's disgusted face, her eyes shut tight and her fingers still inside her ears.

"I'm done, Vala."

"Are you sure?" She asked with her eyes still glued shut. "That's what you said ten minutes ago."

"I truly hope so." Exhausted, he closed his eyes. He had only a couple hours of sleep last night before being woken up by terrible stomach pains, followed by seemingly endless bouts of heaving.

"Okay, but if you puke again, you just might make me vomit too. You know, I'm very sensitive to that sound you're making."

"Thanks for all of your support. Good to know that you really care that I'm miserable."

"Oh Daniel, you know I care. If it makes you feel any better, I've now totally lost my appetite after your latest display of your stomach contents." She pointed to her half-eaten tray of food.

"You just had to have bacon and eggs for breakfast, didn't you? You know the odor is just making things worse."

"Just because you have a tummy ache, doesn't mean I have to starve."

"No, but you could have had oatmeal or cereal, something that I couldn't smell from here. It's not like you didn't know that I had a little bit more than a tummy ache." Just speaking about food was turning his insides out and he felt his face flush as another wave of nausea overtook him. He rolled onto his side and pulled his blanket up farther, closing his eyes again, he willed his stomach to settle. Thankfully, the feeling that he was going to be sick again passed.

"Yes, I'm sorry. You're right. I should have been more thoughtful." She placed the cover over her food tray and pushed her table off to the side. Daniel began to shiver as chills ran up and down his body. He tried to wrap himself up in his blanket, but it was too thin to provide the kind of warmth he sought. He felt another blanket being laid over him and he looked up with bloodshot eyes as Vala tucked the blanket from her bed around him and then placed a hand over his forehead.

"You're getting hotter. Maybe I should get Dr. Lam."

"She was just here and gave me more medicine, I just have to wait for it to kick in."

Vala sat down on his bed next to him and fingered his hair. Normally, he would have found this touch a little too intimate for his liking, but he just didn't have the energy to care and besides, it was a little soothing, distracting him from the pain in his gut.

"I'm sorry you're ill, really. I wish there was more I could do to help you." She continued to stroke his hair. "It hardly seems fair that I'm okay while you're not. Dr. Lam seems to think that I may have some immunity to this virus. Since the village we picked this bug up at does a rather robust trade through the stargate, it wouldn't surprise me if Jacek gave this place a visit during one of his 'business dealings' and gave it to me when I was a child. If that's the case, it's probably the most valuable thing he's ever given to me." She sighed "Anyway, at least I'm still a carrier and get the pleasure of spending some quality time in here with you."

"S'okay. I'm just glad you're not sick too." He spoke wearily and was close to falling asleep again under her touch, but once again he was assaulted by nausea and he sat up quickly holding his hand to his mouth.

"Oh, please tell me you're not going to hurl again."

"I really don't want to either, you know." he growled, clenching his teeth together. Vala wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Just take some deep breaths and blow it out." She suggested.

He sucked in a big breath of air and blew it out several times, successfully avoiding another bout of vomiting. He gave Vala an appreciative nod as she rubbed circles with her hand on his back.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I have some experience with this, Adria gave me the worst morning sickness."

"Go figure." He joked weakly as he settled back down into bed.

"Yeah, for three months all I could eat was bread or crackers. It was awful."

"If you felt anything close to as bad as I feel now for three months, then I have a new found respect for mothers."

"Yes, it's a wonder that anyone is born." Vala agreed with a chuckle and tucked the blankets around Daniel again. He reflexively put an arm around his midsection in an effort to alleviate some of the churning going on in his belly, but it didn't help much. "Speaking of mothers, my mother used to sing to me whenever I was sick, it always made me feel better." She added.

"Please don't sing to me." He begged. " I've heard you sing karaoke before and I'm nauseous enough as it is."

"Well, at least I had the guts to go up there and sing, unlike a certain scaredy-rat archaeologist that shall remain nameless." She teased.

"The term is scaredy-cat, Vala. and I wasn't afraid. I know I can't sing and I chose not to subject others to my lack of musical training."

"Daniel, it's not about singing well, it's about having fun, something you should try to have more of."

"Just because I don't like singing and making a fool out of myself in public, doesn't mean that I can't have fun."

"Daniel, you're the linguist here and yet you don't understand what I am trying to tell you. I'm not saying that you _can't_ have fun. I'm saying that you _don't _have any fun. When was the last time you went out and did something purely for the enjoyment of it without having to have someone else drag you to it?"

"Why does it matter to you if I have fun or not? No one ever asked you to hang out with me all of the time. If I'm so boring to you, why do you continue to harass me all day and follow me wherever I go? Is it just because you like to torment me or is it because I'm an easy target for you to pick on? If that's the case, I'm sure you could have scads more fun with Mitchell, Teal'c or Sam and you could just leave me the hell alone." He wasn't quite sure why he found himself so angry at her, but he just couldn't understand her. One moment she was caring and sweet and the next she was back to teasing him. He rolled away from her and he felt her get up from the bed.

Without a word she returned to her bed. He never saw the pained expression on Vala's face as she sat down. However, the words that she spoke to him next cut him to his core and made him feel more miserable than any alien virus ever could.

"Maybe I like being around you Daniel because I could never find you boring." She said softly. "You're the most interesting, intelligent and yes, even exciting person I have ever known. Perhaps I only want to see you live a little and be happy, did you think of that?" With that she laid down on her bed and turned her back to him.

"Vala..." he rolled back to face her.

"Not now, Daniel." He could hear the hurt in her voice and his gut turned again, but this time he was unable to control the inevitable upheaval. As it all came up again, he sincerely wished the nurse hadn't left with the last emesis basin.


	5. Chapter 5

_Okay, sorry this chapter is so short, next one should be a little longer. :)_

"Vala..."

"Vala, c'mon."

"Fine. Don't talk to me." He sighed and thumped back against his pillow. Hours had passed and Daniel wasn't sure what was worse, being violently ill or getting the cold shoulder from Vala. At least his stomach had settled down thanks to the anti-emetic Dr. Lam had given him. Unfortunately, Vala didn't want anything to do with him now. She sat on her bed with the portable DVD player on her lap and the headphones on, staring intensely at the screen. She wouldn't even turn his way.

"I said I was sorry, what more do you want?"

Still she ignored him.

"Okay, I get it. I was an ass." He drew in a breath and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Will you at least look at me?" He begged.

Again she paid him no mind.

"You know I was just irritable and I shouldn't have said what I did. I know it's no excuse, but I really didn't mean it. I just... I don't know. I guess I've always had a bit of a hard time with just letting myself go and you're right, I don't go out of my way to have fun. I suppose that for the longest time, I just figured that my work was so important, that there wasn't time for any of that sort of thing. It was as though I couldn't allow it or the world would fall apart or the Ori might take that moment to attack and I'd be unprepared for it. It's like I've had this weight pressing down on me and try as I might, I just can't shake it off."

She remained silent, but her eyes left the screen and moved to the floor as she pondered what he had said. Daniel looked up at the ceiling in defeat. He really had stuck his foot in his mouth this time. Vala had only tried to be nice and he cut her down, misinterpreting her kindness for another one of her games. Silence passed between them for quite a while.

"Maybe, you're right. I've monopolized your time and I've been preventing you from doing your saintly and righteous work that has been our only saving grace from the evil forces out there in the galaxy." With a sharp edge to her voice, she spoke up, removing her headphones and closing the DVD player. She fixed him with a hard, grey-eyed gaze. "I mean come on, Daniel. Do you really think you were alone out there, that you're the only one that has had to struggle these last few years?"

He really wasn't prepared for her response, but before he could speak, the door to the isolation room opened and Dr. Lam attempted to walk gracefully in the ungainly hazmat suit towards them.

"How's it going in here?" She asked, but after one look at the faces of her patients she had her answer. "Oookay, nevermind. Anyway, I have some good news. Vala, you're blood tests were clear, looks like your immune system took care of the virus for you and you are free to leave. As for you Dr. Jackson," She turned as best as she could towards him and gave him an apologetic face. "You're blood tests are showing an improvement, but I would like to keep you here until you're recovered."

"Yeah, I kinda figured I would be here a while."

"How are you feeling now?" She asked him.

"Much better, thanks."

"Good." Dr. Lam quickly took note of his vitals and seeming to be satisfied with them, she turned to Vala before heading for the door.

"I'm sure you're ready to get out of here."

"Sure am." Vala responded, shooting Daniel a glare as she got up from her bed. Dr. Lam exited the room and Vala turned to face him. "I Guess this will be good for us, we could use some time apart, I think. Maybe we can both get a little perspective while we're away from each other." He watched her flick her dark hair behind her as she spun to leave. "Feel better soon, Daniel." She called out as she left the room, leaving him alone in the room.

He thought he should be relieved that she was out of there finally. However, the quiet and solitude closed in on him quickly and he found himself missing her presence and even her constant talking or laughter. So used to her companionship was he, that he had almost forgotten how lonely he truly was and he looked longingly to the door, wishing that she was there so he could tell her how he was going to make it up to her somehow.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks for hanging in there and reading this little fic. Thanks also to anyone who reviewed, I really appreciate the input!_

Daniel paused in front of her door, hand poised to knock. He hesitated before his fist could make contact with the door. It had been three days after all, maybe she still didn't want anything to do with him.

A week ago if you had asked him if he would have enjoyed three days of solitude in isolation without the presence of Vala Mal Doran, he wholeheartedly would have responded with a 'yes'. However, if you had asked him the same question this afternoon as he waited impatiently for his blood test results to clear him, then it would have been a different story. Truth be told, he had never been more miserable. Even after he started feeling better, he still was far from okay. He missed her, plain and simple. Sure they had been apart before when she disappeared into the Ori galaxy and when she had been kidnapped by the Trust, but this was different. This time she was the one that wanted away from him and it was all his fault.

Three days alone in that room with only the occasional visit from Sam, Teal'c or Mitchell up in the observation room had definitely changed his perspective. Not once had Vala come by to see him. Not that he had really expected her to, he had been more than a jerk to her he realized. So, here he stood now in front of her door, the only place he could think of coming to first after his release from that quiet and lonely room.

"Well, are you going to knock or not?" A voice asked him from behind.

He spun around to face her. She had her hands on her hips, giving him one of her haughty looks. He had prepared ahead of time what he was going to say when he finally saw her again, carefully choosing the right words. But when he actually found himself face to face with her, those words wouldn't come out. Instead, he found himself trying his best not to imitate a fish out of water.

"Vala..." He started after he found his voice again

"Looks like you're feeling better." She noted, stepping around him, trying to get to her door "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"Wait." He demanded, blocking her from entering with his arm across the door.

"Daniel..."

"Vala, just listen to me, please."

"Fine." She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her gaze on him.

"I'm sorry." He looked down at the floor and shook his head. Gathering his courage for the next phase in his plan to garner Vala's forgiveness, he looked back up into her eyes. "I want to show you something."

"Anything kinky?" She asked with a slight suggestive grin. He just shook his head and grabbed her hand before she could object.

"C'mon, follow me." He pulled he along until she lost her reluctance to come with him. Once to the surface of the mountain complex, Daniel signed them out and led her to his car. He opened the passenger side door for her, gesturing for her to get in. She came up to him toe to toe with her hands on her hips.

"Just where are we going?" She asked without getting into the car.

"You'll see. Will you just get in?... please."

"Alright, but this better be good." She pointed at him and got in. He shut the door for her and crossed over to the driver's side and sat behind the wheel. They took off and headed down the road. Several more times Vala inquired about their destination, but Daniel fended off her questions, intent on taking her to the spot he had been thinking about taking her to for days.

After about twenty minutes, he turned onto a dirt road leading up a steep hill. He pulled into a small unpaved parking area and stopped the car.

"Here we are...well, almost... actually, we have to walk the rest of the way."

"And where is here exactly?" She asked rhetorically as he got out and opened her door, but he ignored her question.

"There's a trail over there." He pointed. "It's not a very far walk."

When she made no move to follow him, he came back to her and took her hand.

"C'mon, I promise this will be worth it."

"Alright, but if I ruin my shoes, you're buying me a new pair."

"I'll buy you a closet full of shoes if you'll just come along." He led her to the trail and the duo headed into the woods where tall trees lined the narrow path as it grew steeper and steeper.

"This had really better be good." Vala huffed and puffed as they climbed.

"It's just a little bit further." He assured her. Finally, the hill crested and the trees thinned out. The trail led to an open clearing that ended with a steep cliff. Off in the distance the snow-capped mountains were silhouetted by the setting sun as dazzling arrays of reds, oranges and purples lit up the sky behind them. Daniel walked up to the edge of the cliff and stopped.

"This is it." He announced with a sweep of his hands as Vala joined him with a questioning look.

"This is very pretty, but why are we here?" She asked.

"Jack used to drag me up here all of the time and to tell the truth, I hated it at first. I used to have a pretty good fear of heights and every time we came to this spot, all I could ever think about was this cliff here and how far down it was. I was so scared of the remote possibility of falling, that I failed to notice how beautiful the view was. It wasn't until we came here the fourth or fifth time around that I finally looked up and noticed how wonderful this spot was. I felt foolish for letting my fear hold me back from truly enjoying what was actually here" He gazed deep into her eyes and took her hand in his. With his other hand he pushed back a curl that had fallen in her face and tucked it behind her ear, grazing the side of her cheek as he did so.

"I'm afraid I've been a fool again. I've allowed fear to rule too much of my life and I've been so afraid of being hurt that I didn't want to let you get too near, so I pushed you away, because, quite frankly, you scare me to death." He laughed a little and she smiled, he drew courage from that and continued. "But I don't want to be dominated by my fear anymore. I'm sorry I was so stupid to not realize how much I was missing out on you just because I was a coward. I never knew how empty my life was before I knew you and I don't want to go back to that lonely place anymore. I want you to be with me and I don't want to let fear get in the way anymore. Do you think you could forgive me for being such an idiot?"

"I think I could do that." She smiled at him as her face had grew soft and tears sparkled around the rims of her eyes. He put his hands on both of her cheeks and remarked on how the setting sun highlighted her dark hair, creating a halo around her. He drew her in close and pressed her into an embrace. He felt her arms tighten around him before she laid her head on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and took in the scent and soft feel of her hair as he laid a hand on the back of her head.

They stood there for sometime, each enjoying the feel and comfort in the others arms as the sun sank further and the sky darkened. Sensing that they would need to leave soon if they were to find their way back to the car before it was too dark to see anything, they reluctantly pulled apart.

Looking into her eyes again he leaned his head towards her face and kissed her softly on the lips. Emboldened by the feel of her lips pressing back against his, he fell further into the kiss. All reason and logic fled as they explored the heights and depths of their passion and when their mouths finally released each other, it had grown to be pitch black, with only the light of the moon left to guide them back.

"Guess I should have thought to bring a flashlight." He joked.

"That's alright, we can always feel our way back." She grabbed his hand and they walked back towards the dark wooded trail. "I'm sure as long as we stick to each other we won't get lost." He smiled at her and she at him. Hand-in-hand they walked into the night together.

The End


End file.
